
Ledger CEO on the outlook for cryptocurrencies

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2 days ago
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Ripple Aiming for More Developers With Ethereum Sidechain: CTO
XRP Ledger's Ethereum sidechain could lead to more experimentation within the network's ecosystem, while potentially attracting fresh talent, according to Ripple CTO David Schwartz. A lot of Ethereum-based applications are 'just garbage,' but developers' overarching focus on experimentation 'is good,' and could benefit XRP Ledger, he told Decrypt in a recent interview. 'The XRP Ledger's set of developers is not as big as I think it should be,' he said, attributing part of that to the fact that 'we don't have programmability at layer-1.' In June, Ripple said that XRP Ledger was entering a multi-chain era with the debut of the XRPL EVM Sidechain. The network supports smart contracts, allowing people to create applications in the same way that they would on Ethereum, while using XRP as its native token. 'If you understand Solidity and building on the EVM platform, you're welcome here,' Schwartz said, referring to Ethereum's primary programming language. In April, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick penciled in a year-end price target of $5.50 for XRP, saying the cryptocurrency is 'positioned at the heart' of cross-border and cross-currency payments. However, he flagged a 'small number of developers' within XRP Ledger's ecosystem as one of the biggest headwinds for the token. XRP Ledger's ecosystem has 168 total developers, while Ethereum and Solana are home to around 8,500 and 4,000 developers, respectively, according to Developer Report. 'I think it is fair to say that we haven't been quite as successful in terms of the sort of number of developers,' he said. 'We definitely are trying to attract more developers.' Alongside the networks mainnet debut, Ripple said that the Ethereum-compatible network unlocks new possibilities within XRP Ledger's ecosystem, including apps that are dedicated to lending and tokenization. They can also tap into 'XRPL's deep liquidity,' it said. Bitcoin ETFs Pull In $91.6M, Snapping Four-Day Outflow Streak So far, the XRPL EVM Sidechain has gotten off to a quiet start, but Schwartz said Ripple is trying to 'encourage people with grants, community funding, [and] driving institutional adoption.' As of Wednesday, XRPL's EVM sidechain had $94,000 worth of assets being used within DeFi applications, according to crypto data provider DefiLlama. The most popular application was Moai Finance, a decentralized exchange with $54 in trading volume over the past day. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Yahoo
Bitcoin DeFi Project BOB Raises Another $9.5M to Build BTC DeFi Infrastructure
BOB, a bitcoin (BTC) decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol combining the security of Bitcoin with Ethereum's DeFi capabilities, has raised $9.5 million in a strategic funding round. The investment bring BOB's ("Build on Bitcoin") total funds raised to $21 million, following previous raises in 2024. The latest raise will be used to fund BOB's vision of building the 'Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi' by launching a mainnet BitVM bridge and enabling Bitcoin finality via staked BTC later this year. This will allow users to bridge BTC from the Bitcoin network and deploy it across DeFi protocols on BOB. Castle Island Ventures, which led BOB's $10 million seed round, also contributed to the latest raise, alongside Ledger, RockawayX, IOSG Ventures and Bankless Ventures. Anchorage, Amber Group, and Sats Ventures joined as new investors, according to an emailed announcement on Thursday. 'By combining BitVM and BTC staking, we're proving how Bitcoin can secure an entire DeFi ecosystem,' said co-founder Alexei Zamyatin. 'A bet on BOB is a bet on Bitcoin DeFi itself.' The mainnet launch is expected by the end of the year.
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Yahoo
Ripple breaks silence on shocking controversy
Ripple breaks silence on shocking controversy originally appeared on TheStreet. Time and again, Ripple has faced questions over allegedly controlling the XRP Ledger, and the crypto payments company's chief technology officer, David Schwartz, has tried clearing the air. In an interview with Decrypt on Aug. 6, Schwartz addressed the controversy again. Though he admitted there is a lingering misconception that Ripple controls the XRP Ledger, he said the Ledger's code isn't secretly controlled by Ripple even if the financial institution is a major contributor to the ecosystem. Though the XRP Ledger is "obviously very important" to Ripple, it has no interest in running the network, he added. However, it is crucial to understand why the questions around Ripple's centralized control over the XRP Ledger arise. Schwartz is behind both the payments firm and the ledger. Notably, the XRP Ledger founders have gifted 80 billion XRP to Ripple, out of which the firm has locked 55 billion XRP into a series of escrows using the same ledger. As of October 2024, 38 billion XRP remained in escrow. Besides, XRP Ledger has a very low number of validators running the network as compared to other blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, Schwartz said that Ripple never censored any transaction. It isn't the first time that such concerns around Ripple's control over XRP have been raised. Earlier in May, Schwartz wrote a detailed comment on X in which he drew the distinction between Ripple and XRP. However, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen recently moving XRP worth millions of dollars sparked fresh scrutiny. There is, of course, the legal battle around the financial status of XRP that has been going on since 2020. Ripple breaks silence on shocking controversy first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 7, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data